Reducing-valve.



Patented may 20, |902.

v G. w. Lofm.l

REDUCHIG VALVE.

(Applicat'iop led Aug. 10, 1901.)

(No Model.)

I Wfl/,Willi /3 J7.

3o v its operating properly'at the given pressure',

`and in general Ato provide? simple and im- UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE,`

GEORGE YV. LORD, OF CHICAGO, ILLlNOIS.

REDUQiNG-VALVE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Lamas,l Patent No. 700,434, dated May 2 0,1902.

Application filed ugust 10.1901'. ASerial No.. 71,561. (No model.)v l

. To all whom, it may concern: 'Be it known that I, GEORGE W. LORD, of-

, Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have inventedcertain -newand useful Improvements in Reducing-Valves, of which thefollowing is a specification.

v This invention relates to improvements in reducing-valveaand refers.more especially to improvements in means whereby the closing of thevalve under high pressure is rendered more certain andpositive, the*inven-` v tionbeing embodied in thepresent instance- .its

in the form of va combined reducing-valve and .faucet i f U y Among thesalient objects of the invention force the valve-closureLpositively'and. accu;l

rately against its seat' under lhigh pressure, to provide in adeviceofthis character a sim- :pleand improved construotiongwherebythe.l i toggle mechanism is connected with the pres-4 2 5 n n orcounterbalanced byafsimple spring, there,-V

sure-diaphragm, vto, provide an improved cou-- struction' andarrangement @whereby the weighty of the operative mechanism is carried,

by enabling the valveto` be set at any required pressure `with accuracyandwithcertainty of,

proved details of construction contributing to the economy ofmanufacture and durability and efficiency of thev device. v l To theabove ends the invention consists in the matters hereinafter described,and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, and the samewill be readily understood from the following description, referf encebeing had to the accompanying drawf i ings, in whichf Figure 1 is anaxial sectional `View taken in the plane of the stemof the valve.

auism in plan, the top casing member being removed and the stem of 'thepressure-diaphragm being shown incross-section at a point v below thediaphragm. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken online 3 13 of`Fig.f1 and.

ia whole the lower or main body of the casing 'of the valve, and 2 thetop member thereof, j vthe latter beingmade inthe form of a cap inflowerpart1 of lthefcasingyvyithin "whichVIV are 'The pressure-diaphragm?maybe `fof-dany "usual or preferred*construction, being-inthe l Fig. 2 is ea view of the lower partsofthe' valve mech# lingthe double purpose ofindicatingthe, po.-

jsaidvFig. 1.

Referring to said drawings, l designates as v ternallythreaded,i asindicated at;3 ,"a`nd t v Y T ting upon the correspondingly-threaded-up-6o is cylindric at itslupper end, but mergesfroin acylindric shapeintoaiiat-sided form mid'- and alsoin dotted lines at.55 Fig', 2,theob-f2 ject ofthis construction being tov provide-m65.' 1:;

6 inthe upperportion of the casi-ngfalvldj ay Y mounted thefslidingvvalve S and thegmecha' ismforoperating same. i

present instance secured 'atv itsperiphery'be-v ,l tween theend margin.9 of 'thejvalve-casingf' q andthe meeting internal shoulder' lO' of :the

cap-member 2' isconneetedk the usual barrel v1 or jtubularhousing`,11,.within whichy Iis 'are y, v rangedacoiled expansion-spring12, bearing 8o Y 1` at itslower end uponthe upper end of asti-:5m` ,g ,ft. 13, connected with` thepressure-.diaphragm ,t andreciprocating.throughasuitableguide14a, formed-inthe lower end of vsaidbarrel, the? upperjend of said'spring" beingeng'aged by a"n85` nadjustable bearing-blockl, which hasscrew`threadedengagementwithanadjusting-screwU l 16, threaded therethroughaudrigidly icon uected at its upper end with a thumb-nut 17, 'i rotatablyjournaled uponthe Aupper;end* of 9o' the barrel `11. One sideof thebarrel 11 is provided with alongitudinal slot 18, through Y whichprotrudes a pointer 19,' (see detail Fig. v

4,) rigidvwith theblock 15, said pointerservf` exerted upon the stem 13,connected with the diaphragm by the spring 12, is indicated in anysuitable units.

Referring now more particularly to the construction of the valvemechanism which controls the flow through the valve, 21 designates theinlet-port leading into the valve-casing from the high-pressure side,21' an outletport through the opposite side of the casing,`

and 22 avalve-seat block mounted against the inside wall of the casing,through which said port 21 opens and itself provided with a port orpassage 23, arranged to register with the port 21. The valve-seat blockmay be secured in position in any suitable manner, being in the presentinstance secured by means of a pair of through bolts or screws 24,inserted through the opposite side walls of the casing andthrough saidblock, as indicated best in Fig. 2, a suitable packing ofslightly-compressible and fluid-proof material being interposed betweenthe block and the casing, as indicated at 25, to insure an accurate andHuid-proof joint.

Within the inner face of the valve-seat block is formed a way 2G,arranged to extend upwardly parallel with the direction of movement ofthe stem 13, connected with the pressure-diaphragm, said Way beingdesirably as herein shown of undercut form in cross-section, asindicated clearly at 27 in Fig. 2. Vithin the way 26 is mounted to slidea slidevalve S, which desirably has the form of a plate iitting at itsedges the undercut portions 27 of the way and at its outer face fittingaccurately against the valve-seat formed around the port-opening 23.Upon its inner side said valve member is provided with atransversely-extending rib or block 29, which is engaged by the notchedlower end 3l of an extension 13' of the stem 13, connected with thepressure-diaphragm. As shown clearly in Fig. 1 the extension 13' isdeiiected from its point of connection with the central portion of thediaphragm radially outward and is rounded at its end adjacent to thenotch thereof, so as to bear firmly against the inner side of theslide-valve when the latter is in its fully-closed position. In order toforce and hold said extension in firm bearing with the slide-Valve whenthe latter is shifted into a fully-closed position, a toggle member 33is provided, which is arranged to extend substantially at right anglesto the direction of movement of the slide-valve, one end of said togglemember being pivotally connected with the valve-casing by means of athroughpivot 3i, while its opposite end is likewise pivotally connectedwith the extension 13' by means of a transverse pivot-pin 35, extendingthrough said parts. As a preferred construction the toggle member 33 isbifurcated or provided with arms at each of its ends,- one pair of armsbeing arranged to engage the pivot 34 at points relatively distantapart, while the opposite pair of arms is arranged to embrace theopposite sides of the extension 13', thereby insuring an accuratemovement of the parts in a Vertical plane. The pivot 35, whereby thetoggle member and extension are exibly united, extends through a slot 3Giu one of said members, arranged to extend longitudinally of the togglemember, so as to afford the necessary movement of the pivot relativelyto the toggle incident to the movement of that endof the toggle memberin an arc concentric with the pivot 34 during the movements of thevalve. In order, however, that the extension member 13' may be forcedpositively against the inner side of the slidevalve as the latterapproaches its fully-closed position, which in the present inst-ance isits uppermost position, the inner end of the slot '3G or that remotefrom the slide-valve is so located as to engage thepivot 35, which isrigid in the extension 13', and thereby force and hold the latter inpositive bearing engagement with the valve.

In order to counterbalauce the weight of the v toggle member, theslide-valve, and the stem and extension 13 and 13', acounterbalancespring 37 is provided, consisting in the present instanceof a wire spring bent in the form ofva rectangular loop, the centralportion 3S of which underlies the toggle member at a point intermediatethe length ofthe latter, while the downturned end portions 39 bearagainst the inner face of the rear side of the valve-casing, and theintermediate angle portions 110 rest upon the pivot 3l. This spring isso formed that its tension will just counterbalance the weight of theparts mentioned, thereby leaving the tension of the pressureregulatingspring 2 unaffected by the Weight of the operating parts. In order tofacilitate the removal ot' the top cap member 2 of the valve-casing, itis provided upon its central extension 2", with which the barrel l1 iscou-- nected, with a plurality ot facets 2", adapted for the engagementof a Spanner.

The reducing-valve is herein'shown as combined with a faucet,(designated as a whole 41,) such a combined faucet and reducingvalvebeing especially well adapted for use in drawing beer or otherbeverages, which are ordinarily drawn under considerable pressure and,desirably, with varying pressure to suit the fancy or requirements ofdifferent persons or conditions. The faucet-body 4l may be of anysuitable or preferred construction, that shown herein being of usualform and provided with the usual turn-cock 12. The high-pressure side ofthe valve is connected with a stem or pipe 43, which may be connectedwith any receptacle or other source of Supply- The operation of thedevice is probably entirely obvious from the foregoing description, butmay be briefly set forth as follows: Assuming that the inlet side of thereducingvalve be connected with any suitable source of liquid underpressure-as, for example, through the pipe t--upon turning the cock 41so as to permit the liquid to ilow through,

IOO

lIO

the position of the controlling-valve 8 will be determined! by the backpressure or resistance to the escape of the liquid through theontlet-passage 21C If the cock be only partly opened, the greaterresistance'to the escape of the liquid Will create a greater internalpressure in the valvelchamber, and this, acting upon the diaphragm 6,will raise the slidevalve correspondingly, and thus restrict theinlet-passage, while, on the other` hand, if the escape from thevalve-chamber be relatively free-as, for example, when the cock be en-1tirely open-the internal pressure will be less and the diaphragmcorrespondingly forcedY downwardly by the spring l2 and the slidevalvethus opened to a greater extent, so that in either case the liquid vwillissue from the faucet under substantially the same pressure.

y This pressure may be readily regulated within the limits of controlalforded by thespring l2 by simply manipulating the thumb-nut 17 so asto increase or decrease the pressure of the spring exerted uponthediaphragm 6.

Itis to be particnlarlynotedthat it follows from* the constructiondescribed that the movementof the slidevalve is entirely free and asnearly aspossible devoid of friction during thevordinary working ofthe'valvc,v` thereby rendering the regulation of pressure certain anduniform, while at thesame time whenever the internal or backpressureexceeds thatpressure at which the valve is set `to closethevalve will'be forcedtpositively;

against its seatand held there by the wedging action of the togglemechanism described. The result is that any looseness of fit between theslide-valve and the ways, either such as is provided to insuresufficient freedom of movement between the parts or suchlasfol-` lowsfrom wear, will notadect the complete,r

accurate, and positive closing of the valve under excessive pressure.The several parts ofy the construction are, all, smpleand capable ofbeing cheaply made, While at the same time they. are extremely durableand not apt toI readily getout of repair oradj ustment. -v More-4 over,the construction is such that the Work-y ing partsof the valve may bewithdrawn from v the casing with theutmostfacility either for the`purpose of cleaning, repair, or renewal.

While I have herein described a preferred'l embodiment of my invention,yet it will bev understood that the details thereof may be modified to acertainextent without departing from the invention, andI do not, there-.fore, wish to limit myself to these exact `de, tails, except to theextent that they are made` subject of specific claims.

I claim as my inventione Y 1. In a reducingfvalve the combination withthe valve-casing'and pressure-diaphragm arranged therein, ofaslide-valve arranged to control the admission" of liquidgtothevalvecasing, an Ioperating member operatively connecting saidslide-Valve with the pressure` diaphragm and a toggle mechanismarranged.v

to force the valve positively against its seat as'it approachesitsiclosed position. y

2. In a reducing-valve the combination with the valve-casing andpressure-diaphragm arranged therein, of a slide-valve arranged tocontrol the admission of liquidto the valvecasing, an operating memberdirectly connecting 'the pressurediaphragm with said slide-valve so thatsaid parts move together positively, and an oscillatory member pivotfally mounted within the valve-'casing and operatively connected withsaid slide-valve to move with the latter; the location of the pivotalaxis of said oscillatory member and its operative connections with theslide-valve being arranged to force the slideevalve positively towardits seat as it approaches itsA closed position in its movement with thepressure-diaphragm.

3. In al reducin g-valve,the combination with the valve-casing, ofapressure-diaphragm arranged to extend across the `interior 'ofI ythe 1same, an inlet-port opening into the casing through a valve-seatarranged in a plane substantially at rightangles tothe plane Aof thediaphragm, a slide-valve 4mountedjn ways to reciprocateacross s aidportVin a direction parallel withv thedirection of movement ofl the`diaphragmin its vibratim'anoperatingstem operatively connected with the centralportion of said diaphragmand directly engaging atitsopposite end` saidslide-valve, a toggle member,piyotallymounted at one end within thevalve casing and iiexibly conL nectedat its opposite end with thevalve-operatingmechanism, :the pivotal axis of said toggle member beingso located relatively Ito its point of connectionwith the valve-oper#`ating-mechanism thatsaid'elatter point moves through an arc whichyapproaches Vthevalve'- seat as the valve is brought to itsclosedposition and a s ring` arran ed to normall` force said valve yintoopening position.

42 In a reducing-valve the combination of a t valvefcasing provided witharemovable end wall having the form of .a screw-cap, a pres-1 sure-diaphragm arranged to'extend across'tlwleinterior ofthe casing at thepointof juncture between thescrew-cap` and 4bodyof, thecasing, aninlet-port opening through a part ofz the side wall of the casingbeloyvthe'diaph'ragmvand extending substantially/at right angles thereto,Valvalveseat block mounted upon thewinterior of thecasing and providedwithaportarranged inl register With said in let-port, ways formed insaidQvalve-seat block,

a slide-valve arranged to slide therein and,4 provided upon itssideremote from the valve-` seat with a lug or projectiom anoperatingstem connected with the central portion` ofv thekdiaphragmand,` havinga recessed endportion operatively connected withthepro jection of the 'slide-valve, and a s'pringbarrel connected with saidend'capwithin which the upper end of said ,operating-stem. is v,ar-r

ranged to project, a coiled spring arranged ii5 t within said barrel toact upon the operatingstem, means for adjusting the tension of saidspring, and a toggle mechanism operatively connected with saidslide-valve and acting to force the latter positively against its seatas it approaches its closed position, substantially as described.

5. In a reducing-valve the combination with the valve-casing providedwith an inlet-port opening through one side thereof of a slidevalvearranged to reciprocate across said port, and a toggle-lever pivotallymounted at one end Within said casing at a point remote from, andsubstantially opposite said inletport and having its vibrating endoperatively connected With said slide-valve by means of a slot-andpinconnection, whereby the valve is free to move away from its seat duringits opening movement, but is forced positively to its seat as itapproaches a closed position, and means for reciprocating said valveendwse, substantially as described.

6. In a reducing-valve the combination with the valve-casing providedwith an inlet-port opening through one side thereof of a slidevalvearranged to reciprocate across said port, and a toggle-lever pivotallymounted at one end within said casing at a point remote from, andsubstantially opposite said inletport and having its vibratin g endoperatively connected with said slide-valve by means of a slot-and-pinconnection, whereby the valve is free to move away from its seat duringits opening movement, but is forced positively to its seat as itapproaches a closed position, and a spring arranged to act upon saidtoggle member to counter-balance the Weight of the latter, and connectedparts moving therewith, substantially as described.

GEORGE W. LORD.

Witnesses:

ALBERT 1I. GRAVES, FREDERICK C. GOODWIN.

